Expert View: Avoiding the Trap of Single-mode Thinking

As more organizations embrace AI, automation and Big Data, how many are mature enough to really develop and leverage these innovative technologies?

By Alan Morrison, Sr. Research Fellow, Emerging Tech at PwC

Most companies can work with data at a small scale on one-off projects and achieve limited success. But the real question is, how can they work with data at scale on a continual, day-to-day basis? Without continual flows of the right data to the right place, how can they transform their operations and achieve true competitive advantage?

Organizations need to start working with data flows, not just in batch mode. Rigid organizations are trapped in single-mode thinking, while their most able competitors are creative, non-linear thinkers who leverage a diversity of views and approaches to achieve business goals.

Data is the lifeblood of any sizable organization today, and competitive advantage hinges on the ability of companies to harness machines to develop and act on insights to effect considerable performance improvements and other beneficial outcomes. To uncover those insights, companies need a continual flow of the right data to the right parts of the organization in the right format.